Which Home Improvement Projects Offer the Best Returns?

Which Home Improvement Projects Offer the Best
Returns?

When it comes to remodeling, exterior replacement projects have routinely
rewarded home owners with more bang for their buck. This year is no different:
REALTORS® recently rated many exterior improvements as among the most
valuable home investment projects as part of the 2011-12 Remodeling Cost vs.
Value Report.

“This year’s Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report shows the value of
putting your home’s best façade forward, so to speak,” said National Association
of REALTORS® President Moe Veissi. “Inexpensive exterior replacement
projects are not only crucial to a home’s regular upkeep, but are also expected
to recoup close to 70 percent of costs. Specific exterior projects such as
siding, window and door replacements are part of regular home maintenance, so
many homeowners are already undertaking them. These projects also do not require
expensive materials and they have the added bonus of instantly adding curb
appeal.”

HouseLogic.com, NAR’s consumer Web
site, includes dozens
of remodeling projects, from kitchens and baths to siding replacements,
which indicate the recouped value of the project based on a national average.
According to the Cost vs. Value, seven of the top 10 most
cost-effective projects nationally in terms of value recouped are exterior
replacement projects. REALTORS® judged an upscale fiber-cement siding
replacement as the project expected to return the most money, with an estimated
78 percent of costs recouped upon resale.

Two additional siding replacement projects were in the top 10, including
foam-backed vinyl siding, expected to return 69.6 percent of costs, and upscale
vinyl siding, expected to recoup 69.5 percent of costs. Three door replacements
were also among the top exterior replacement projects. The steel entry door
replacement is the least expensive project in the report, costing little more
than $1,200 on average and expected to recoup 73 percent of costs.

The upscale garage door replacement jumped seven spots to number six this
year, primarily due to the average cost of the project declining more than 15
percent nationally. The upscale and midrange garage door replacement projects
are expected to return more than 71 percent of costs. One window replacement
project — upscale vinyl — rounded out the last exterior replacement project in
the top 10, expected to recoup 69.1 percent of costs.

The 2011-12 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report compares construction
costs with resale values for 35 midrange and upscale remodeling projects
comprising additions, remodels, and replacements in 80 markets across the
country. Data are grouped in nine U.S. regions, following the divisions
established by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the 14th consecutive year that
the report, which is produced by Remodeling magazine publisher Hanley
Wood LLC, was completed in cooperation with NAR.